By JENNY CARTER
I loved this book.
It is beautifully and lavishly illustrated with over 200 fine art paintings, artefacts, manuscript drawings, photographs and genealogical tables which give an easily understood synopsis of each royal house of ancient Britain, and the line from which it sprang.
Coloured fact boxes highlight notable events of each reign from the legendary King Arthur of Camelot to that of King Richard III.
What is known of early Britain came back to refresh those distant memories of tales from school days, and more. Remember Alfred the Great and the burnt cakes, or King John and the lost Crown Jewels ! And who remembers that in 1019, under King Cnut, Britain was briefly part of the Scandinavian empire.
The names of the first kings of divided ancient Britain were handed down as folklore and legend, as it was not until the literate Romans invaded in 54 BC and wrote about them, that their names came into recorded history.
Contained within the pages is a section on the rulers of Scotland up to 1603. We are reminded again of Robert the Bruce and the legend of the spider, but there is much more here to inform the reader of those little known early Scottish kings.
The series of fascinating historical stories detailing years of conflict contained within these covers, suggests that those early centuries were not a good time in which to be a monarch. Intrigue, treachery, usurping of crowns, and downright terrible ends to the lives of some unfortunates, abound in the pages. Although some marriages turned out well, Queens, as well as ambitious plotters, could be ruthless and merciless adversaries. The gruesome and sadistic killing of Edward II, designed to leave no mark on his body, is hard to put out of mind. His screams of agony filled the air. And yes, his queen was one of his most bitter enemies.
